


Method Acting

by figure-skating-prompts (orphan_account)



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Getting Together, Humor, M/M, Platonic Relationships, kind of crackfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-29 06:14:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15066929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/figure-skating-prompts
Summary: Originally posted on Tumblr. Prompt: "A continuation of the sQuad trying to get Yuzu and Javi together but Zhenya finds out and wants to help them."Evgenia finds Yuzuru and Javier's inability to express their feelings to each other to be just a little frustrating and decides to offer her matchmaking services to assist in getting them together.Sequel to "Teamwork," but the two can be read separately.





	Method Acting

“What are we doing?” Evgenia asked innocently, crouching down beside Boyang and Nathan. The two seemed to be watching something rather intently, and she desperately wanted to know what it was.

Nathan jumped, turning quickly. “Nothing–” he said quickly, and he elbowed Boyang, who only nodded. For once, he seemed to be out of words, which convinced Evgenia that they were up to something that they perhaps shouldn’t be doing.

She smiled a bit mischievously, moving even closer. “I don’t believe you,” she said, voice still chipper. “So now I have to know.”

“There’s nothing to know,” Nathan insisted.

He frowned, of course, when Shoma jogged up to Boyang. “Yuzu is going to the coffee shop after practice, so we need to get Javier there, too–” He frowned when he noticed Nathan repeatedly making a gesture for him to stop talking. “…what?” he asked, then looked over and noticed Evgenia. “…hm.”

Eyes brightening, she grinned. “So you’re planning for Yuzuru and Javier, right?” She noticed that none of the young men said anything, and her smile widened. “That’s good, because I want in.”

Nathan shook his head, turning away. “No, we’re not adding onto the group. Patrick already dropped out, and it’s a pretty exclusive club to begin with, so we should probably stick with this number.”

But even as he spoke, Boyang nodded enthusiastically. “Sure! We could use the help!”

Deciding to go with Boyang’s decision rather than Nathan’s, Evgenia nodded. “So, what’s the plan?” She took a step closer, and Nathan bit his lip in thought. She could tell that he wasn’t eager to include her in the group, and though she figured that he had no good reason to feel that way, she decided not to bring it up, instead hoping that her actions would be more convincing than her words. “I can always get Yuzu alone and figure out what’s going on. I know how he feels, anyway,” she explained.

Shoma hummed softly. “They are really good friends,” he reasoned.

With a sigh, Nathan nodded. “Fine, we can do that. But, we’re still in charge, technically, and–and that doesn’t really matter. You’re going to take care of this stuff, aren’t you?” Evgenia nodded, closing her eyes to look even more pleasant, and the young man sighed. “Okay, okay. We do appreciate your help, I just wanted to point that out.”

Evgenia smiled, but she knew that they needed her help more than they should appreciate it. She put an arm around Shoma, and he looked over pleasantly. She did like Boyang, and though she didn’t know Nathan very well, she was certain that he could be a good friend. But she was already closer with Shoma, as they were both around Yuzuru so much. So she could appreciate his sticking up for her, not that she needed it.

“What about a coffee shop?” she asked, sticking her hands in her pockets.

Shoma handed her his phone. “Yuzu said that he wanted to go get coffee after practice, so he asked me to go with him. But we were trying to find a time that we could get him and Javier alone, so we could just have him take my place.”

Evgenia nodded thoughtfully, beginning to think. It wouldn’t be out of place for Shoma and Yuzuru to have a meal together, but it also wouldn’t be so strange for Yuzuru and Javier to be alone in the same room. They needed something different, something a little more high-risk. Javier needed to have something at stake. With a start, the young woman thought of the perfect plan.

“What if I went?” she asked, and the three looked at her confusedly. “Instead of Shoma. I’ll meet up with Yuzuru after practice, and I’ll go out with him. You all can drag Javier there, and if he sees Yuzuru with someone else who he doesn’t always go out with, then maybe it’ll make him a little jealous.” She waited for a response, already waiting for Nathan’s counter. He was normally such a fun guy, but he apparently liked to do everything perfectly, even this. As such, Evgenia wasn’t surprised to see that he was taking this a bit too seriously, as well.

Not that she would ever not take Yuzuru’s love life seriously. She was a good friend.

Nathan actually seemed to be considering it. “Like, if you two looked like you were on a date?” he asked. Evgenia nodded. “…that could work. And we could try to make it more believable. I’m okay with it if you guys are.”

Boyang grinned. “That’s a great idea, Zhenya!” he said, and she beamed at the nickname. Shoma texted something to Yuzuru quickly, and Boyang marveled at how quick the young man’s access to Yuzuru was. “It’s like a direct access to God,” he muttered, and Shoma raised an eyebrow.

“It’s just Yuzu.”

“And he says it like it’s not a big deal! Who is this guy?”

Laughing lightly, Evgenia glanced over when Shoma’s phone dinged. “What did you say? What did he say?”

“I told him that I was feeling sick from dinner yesterday–”

“You had dinner with him yesterday? It’s like you’re trying to sabotage Javier–”

Nathan shushed Boyang. “He’s clearly not. Shoma’s just his friend, just like Evgenia is, and we’re going to make sure that Javier’s not just a friend. We have to let this all work out, okay?” He was actually trying to be a bit encouraging, and Evgenia liked this less stressed side of him more.

Shooting them all an unimpressed look, Shoma cleared his throat to continue. The others all stood to attention, and Shoma said, “And he said that he would love to catch up with Evgenia, so you guys are good to go…this means that I won’t be able to be at practice tonight.” He seemed a bit embarrassed by the realization, and Evgenia patted his shoulder.

“I’ll teach you the choreography afterward as payment,” she winked. “Thank you for your sacrifice.”

He smiled lightly, shaking his head. “But that means that I can probably grab Javier after everything without anyone else noticing.”

“And we’ll get Yuzuru looking like he’s ready for his ‘date,’” Boyang added eagerly.

With the plan surprisingly agreed upon, Evgenia hurried off to do her hair in her hotel room. She knew that she was only planning for a fake date with Yuzuru, but she still wanted to look good. She hurried up, unlocked the door, and offered Alina a quick greeting. The young girl blinked, barely having the time to look up from her laptop before Evgenia closed the bathroom door.

She opened it a second later, smiling sweetly. “May I borrow your curling iron?”

“Of course–” Alina got up to hand the tool to her friend, still a bit perplexed. “Are you going out tonight?”

“Mm-hmm, with Yuzuru.”

Alina’s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open. “You and Yuzuru–are you–” She clearly had no idea of how to continue the thought, and Evgenia was quick to stop her.

“No, not like that! We’re just trying to figure out how to get Yuzuru and Javier together, and we’re going with my plan.” She was quite proud of that last fact, though she suspected that Nathan wouldn’t have appreciated her blurting out the idea to someone else. Oh, well; Alina was trustworthy.

“By ‘we,’ do you mean Boyang and Shoma?”

“And Nathan.”

Alina nodded, uncertain. “I…hope this works out how you want it to.”

“It will. I’m a fantastic actress,” Evgenia said, moving her arms out dramatically (and nearly smacked Alina with the curling iron). The two began to laugh, and Alina took a step back. The older girl sighed, stepping back into the bathroom. “Wait up tonight, and I’ll tell you how it goes.”

“I think it’ll be a…very interesting story.”

***

The practice wasn’t too torturous, and Evgenia was glad, because she had to remember everything so that she could demonstrate it to Shoma later. He had texted her a few minutes ago to tell him that he was waiting outside the rink to grab Javier after everyone was leaving. As everyone lowered their hands, finally finished with the choreography, Evgenia turned to Yuzuru, and he smiled widely, holding up a hand so that she could high-five him, which she did, of course.

“Your hair looks nice,” he told her, and she raised her eyebrows, exaggeratingly fluffing it up.

“Do you think so?” she laughed, and he nodded.

Javier skated over, eyes bright (but searching for something–good). “What’re you all dressed up for?” he asked kindly.

Luckily, Yuzuru was always quick to answer. “Zhenya and I are going out for coffee after this. We need the caffeine.” By some crazy twist of luck, he didn’t add that he had asked Shoma first, and Evgenia looked behind her at Nathan, who shrugged, just as surprised.

Javier looked surprised for the briefest of moments, but he wiped the expression away with a quick nod. “Well, that sounds very fun. I should–I should let you both get going. Try not to keep Yuzu out too late.” Did he tack on the name because Yuzuru had used Evgenia’s nickname? She suspected as much.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on him,” she smiled back, grabbing onto Yuzuru’s arm. “We should get going before it gets too late,” she advised.

Yuzuru hummed in agreement, then looked over at Javier. “I’ll talk to you later,” he promised, and that was enough for Evgenia to confirm that he thought about Javier far more than he ever would about anyone else. He didn’t want his friend to think that he was being shunted in any way. Boys were so easy to figure out, she thought.

As they left, Boyang whistled lowly. “Guess we’ll have to keep an eye on those two,” he said loudly, and Nathan rolled his eyes, not at all wanting to continue with this terrible acting. But a sharp look from the older man convinced him enough.

“Yeah. Who knew that they would finally go out on that date she’s always wanted? It’s crazy.”

Javier frowned, looking off to the side. “She–she likes him? I thought they were just friends?” He clearly looked concerned, and Nathan Chen clearly looked as if he were reconsidering every decision he’s ever made. How was this so easy, and how had Evgenia known that this was going to happen? Why hadn’t they indoctrinated her sooner?

Pulling on Nathan’s arm to lead him away, Boyang ran the two of them out of the rink, leaving Javier effectively alone. He sighed, unsure what to think. It was wrong to expect anything more from his friendship with Yuzuru, but he supposed that he had been taking him for granted a bit too long. His window was closed, and Evgenia–pretty Evgenia, with the beautiful movements and the accolades–had finally made her move.

They would be such a good couple, honestly.

As Javier began to walk away, he noticed a shock of brown hair by the gates. He squinted, trying to get a closer look. Had some child gotten in and was now lost? Javier skated over, suddenly glad that he hadn’t made a point of addressing the “child.”

It was just Shoma, crouching. The young man looked up, then stood. He still wasn’t all that tall, but that was just Shoma, and Javier smiled politely. “What’re you doing here? I thought you were sick–”

Shoma, as always, was quick to get to the point. “Yuzuru and Evgenia aren’t dating, but they’re probably going to, if you don’t do something soon. Yuzuru likes you a lot, but he doesn’t think that you like him–”

“He doesn’t–of course I do–” Why was Javier admitting everything to Shoma here? Desperation. It was definitely desperation.

“Then you need to get there and tell him.”

Javier hesitated, then nodded, determined. “That…I’m going to do that. Thank you, Shoma.” He was quick to grab his bag and hurried off.

***

“–and so that was the plan,” Evgenia explained, taking a drink of her iced coffee. Yuzuru stared at her, mouth open, then looked around as if to check to see if he was being filmed. Unfortunately, there were no cameras, and this was apparently his real life.

“…so, what do I do with that?” he muttered.

Evgenia stirred her drink, seemingly unconcerned (even though she was practically shaking with happiness, especially since she had a clear view of the restaurant’s front window behind Yuzuru and could see a fast-moving figure trying to get into the building. “Well, you first of all need to decide how you really feel about Javier, if you want to pursue something with him or not. Then, you need to act surprised, because he’s coming here right now–” she said quickly, grabbing her bag and fleeing the table, briskly walking to the restroom.

She didn’t close the door, just hovered around it, smiling encouragingly toward Javier. The older man seemed confused, but he sat down anyway, a bit out of breath. She couldn’t see Yuzuru’s reaction, which was a bit unfortunate, since she was certain that he looked insanely stunned, but Javier’s incredibly serious expression he kept as he talked was just as rewarding. Yuzuru moved his head as he supposedly responded, and Evgenia bit her lip, all of a sudden feeling the nerves.

Perhaps she had been reading the situation wrong this whole time. But then Javier’s worried expression morphed into a soft smile, and he inclined his head, visibly relaxing.

Smirking, Evgenia pulled out her phone, snapping a quick picture of the two. She sent it to Shoma, Nathan, and Boyang, just to let them know that her plan had been quite the success. She frowned, though, when she realized that she had left her coffee on the table.

Well.

Sacrifices did have to be made sometimes.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> All my completed fics are at figure-skating-prompts.tumblr.com, but if you see something on there that you think should be here, let me know!


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